diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ea8feac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+# Changelog
+
+What changed in each release of SCN Chat, for the people who use it, run it, or fork it. The format follows [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/), and versions follow [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/). `docs/releasing.md` says how a release is cut.
+
+## [Unreleased]
+
+### Added
+
+- A file attached to a message, such as a PDF, shows in the chat as the chip it was in the composer, with its name over its kind and size. A PDF opens in a new tab in the browser's own viewer, and any other file downloads under its name. Several files side by side share a row.
+- `pnpm release <version>` cuts a release from this changelog: it dates the Unreleased section, bumps the version, tags the commit, and publishes the GitHub Release with that section as its notes. `docs/releasing.md` has the versioning rules.
+- A provider that turns a request away with a rate limit or a server error is tried again for about a minute, and the reply says the provider is busy meanwhile. A key that has run out of credit or budget is not retried, and when it is the admin's key, the message suggests adding your own.
+
+### Changed
+
+- A reply's sources sit behind a count, a chip that opens onto a numbered list with one source to a line, rather than badges under the reply.
+- A finished reply's steps open onto a quiet rail, with a dot for each step that is green when its tool finished, red when it failed, and grey for a thought, rather than a stack of numbered cards.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Closing a thought, a step, or a reply's sources no longer pauses and then drops at the end.
+
+## [0.1.1] - 2026-10-15
+
+### Changed
+
+- Selected text is a calm blue rather than the pale amber that search matches and the Stopped badge use.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- A footnote link scrolls to its note in the same reply, and the note's way back does the same, rather than opening the page in a new tab.
+
+## [0.1.0] - 2026-10-15
+
+The first tagged release.
+
+[Unreleased]: https://github.com/Z-Space-Society/scn-chat/compare/v0.1.1...HEAD
+[0.1.1]: https://github.com/Z-Space-Society/scn-chat/compare/v0.1.0...v0.1.1
+[0.1.0]: https://github.com/Z-Space-Society/scn-chat/releases/tag/v0.1.0
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 5ccbede..4d5a5f8 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ An AI assistant chat app where each conversation is an atproto permissioned spac
 - `apps/web` is the TanStack Start app, which the server runs inside Hono. Its code is grouped by feature in `src/features/`, with thin routes in `src/routes/` and cross-feature code in `src/shared/`. `src/parts/` holds the views that draw message parts, and `src/store/` is the browser's local SQLite copy.
 - `plugins/` holds the shipped plugins.
 - `docs/architecture.md` is the human-facing architecture overview, and `docs/plugins.md` the plugin author guide. Update them when a change affects what they describe.
+- `CHANGELOG.md` records each change a user, admin, or forker would notice: add its line under Unreleased in the same commit. `docs/releasing.md` has the versioning rules and the steps for cutting a release.
 - `GLOSSARY.md` holds the project's terms, and `docs/adr/` the decisions behind its less obvious choices. Read the relevant ADR before changing what it decided.
 - `pnpm dev` runs the server, which serves the web app through Vite, as one process, and `pnpm dev --scan` also loads React Scan in the browser. `pnpm preview` builds the web app and runs the production build locally. `pnpm dev:remote` and `pnpm preview:remote` do the same behind a localhost.run tunnel over ssh, with the tunnel's HTTPS URL as `PUBLIC_URL`, for testing from a phone. `pnpm start` runs the production build for a deployment. `pnpm check` runs lint, type checking, and every test. `pnpm codegen` regenerates the lexicon code after a lexicon change, and `pnpm publish-lexicons <handle>` publishes the lexicons from the lexicon authority account. `pnpm keys` prints fresh secrets.
 - Local setup: copy `.env.example` to `.env`, fill in the secrets from `pnpm keys`, and put your DID in `ADMIN_DIDS`. Plugins, models, roles, and every other runtime setting are configured in the admin area at `/admin`.
diff --git a/apps/server/package.json b/apps/server/package.json
index c03136e..441a44d 100644
--- a/apps/server/package.json
+++ b/apps/server/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 {
   "name": "@scn-chat/server",
-  "version": "0.1.0",
   "private": true,
   "type": "module",
   "exports": {
diff --git a/apps/web/package.json b/apps/web/package.json
index 2a526f3..589f219 100644
--- a/apps/web/package.json
+++ b/apps/web/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 {
   "name": "@scn-chat/web",
-  "version": "0.1.0",
   "private": true,
   "type": "module",
   "scripts": {
diff --git a/docs/releasing.md b/docs/releasing.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8868c47
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/releasing.md
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+# Versions and releases
+
+SCN Chat has one version, the `version` in the root `package.json`, and it follows [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/). The workspace packages under `apps/` and `packages/` are private parts of the app and carry no version of their own. Each plugin keeps its own version in its `package.json`, which the admin's plugin list shows, and bumps it when the plugin changes.
+
+While the version is 0.x, a minor release, such as 0.2.0, carries new features or anything someone running a deployment must act on, such as a new environment variable, a migration that needs attention, or a lexicon change that needs a fresh login. A patch release, such as 0.1.2, carries fixes and small changes only.
+
+## Recording changes
+
+`CHANGELOG.md` is the record. Each commit that changes something a user, an admin, or a forker would notice adds a line under **Unreleased**, in the same commit, under one of:
+
+- **Added** for something new.
+- **Changed** for something that works or looks different.
+- **Fixed** for a bug that no longer happens.
+- **Removed** for something that is gone.
+- **Security** for a vulnerability fixed.
+
+A line says what the person sees, in a sentence or two, like the start of a commit message without its reasoning. A change that only refactors, tests, or tidies leaves the changelog alone, and several commits that build one feature share one line. Anything a deployment must act on says so in its line.
+
+## Cutting a release
+
+Pick the version by the rules above, from what Unreleased holds, then run:
+
+```sh
+pnpm release 0.2.0 --dry-run   # checks everything and prints the notes, changing nothing
+pnpm release 0.2.0
+```
+
+It refuses unless you are on `main` with a clean working tree, up to date with `origin/main`, signed in to the GitHub CLI, the version is newer than the current one and has no tag yet, and Unreleased holds something. Then it:
+
+1. Renames Unreleased in `CHANGELOG.md` to the version and today's date, starts a new empty Unreleased above it, and moves the compare links at the bottom on.
+2. Sets the root `package.json` version to match, and commits both as "Release 0.2.0".
+3. Tags that commit with an annotated tag, `v0.2.0`, so the tag records who cut it and when.
+4. Pushes the commit and the tag together.
+5. Publishes a GitHub Release for the tag, titled `v0.2.0`, with that version's section as its notes.
+
+The code is in `packages/release`.
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 5055a65..29f9452 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "scn-chat",
-  "version": "0.1.0",
+  "version": "0.1.1",
   "private": true,
   "type": "module",
   "packageManager": "pnpm@10.33.0",
@@ -22,7 +22,8 @@
     "codegen": "pnpm --filter @scn-chat/lexicons codegen",
     "publish-lexicons": "pnpm --filter @scn-chat/lexicons publish-lexicons",
     "migrate": "pnpm --filter @scn-chat/server migrate",
-    "keys": "pnpm --filter @scn-chat/server keys"
+    "keys": "pnpm --filter @scn-chat/server keys",
+    "release": "pnpm --filter @scn-chat/release release"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@biomejs/biome": "2.5.14",
diff --git a/packages/lexicons/package.json b/packages/lexicons/package.json
index 31fbb4d..097e76c 100644
--- a/packages/lexicons/package.json
+++ b/packages/lexicons/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 {
   "name": "@scn-chat/lexicons",
-  "version": "0.1.0",
   "private": true,
   "type": "module",
   "exports": {
diff --git a/packages/plugin-api/package.json b/packages/plugin-api/package.json
index af7b8ea..caef756 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-api/package.json
+++ b/packages/plugin-api/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 {
   "name": "@scn-chat/plugin-api",
-  "version": "0.1.0",
   "private": true,
   "type": "module",
   "exports": {
diff --git a/packages/release/package.json b/packages/release/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..22ef4c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/release/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "name": "@scn-chat/release",
+  "private": true,
+  "type": "module",
+  "scripts": {
+    "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit -p .",
+    "release": "node src/release-cli.ts"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/release/src/release-cli.ts b/packages/release/src/release-cli.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e5ef854
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/release/src/release-cli.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+// pnpm release <version> [--dry-run]: cut a release from CHANGELOG.md's Unreleased section, as
+// docs/releasing.md describes. With --dry-run it checks everything and prints the notes, changing
+// nothing.
+import { execFileSync } from 'node:child_process'
+import { mkdtempSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
+import { join } from 'node:path'
+import { cutRelease, ReleaseError } from './release.ts'
+
+const root = execFileSync('git', ['rev-parse', '--show-toplevel'], { encoding: 'utf8' }).trim()
+const run = (command: string, args: string[]) =>
+  execFileSync(command, args, { cwd: root, encoding: 'utf8' }).trim()
+/** Whether a command succeeds, its output kept quiet. */
+const succeeds = (command: string, args: string[]) => {
+  try {
+    execFileSync(command, args, { cwd: root, stdio: 'ignore' })
+    return true
+  } catch {
+    return false
+  }
+}
+
+function release(args: string[]) {
+  const version = args.find((arg) => !arg.startsWith('--'))
+  const dryRun = args.includes('--dry-run')
+  if (!version)
+    throw new ReleaseError('Usage: pnpm release <version> [--dry-run], as pnpm release 0.2.0')
+
+  if (run('git', ['branch', '--show-current']) !== 'main')
+    throw new ReleaseError('Releases are cut from main. Switch to main first.')
+  if (run('git', ['status', '--porcelain']))
+    throw new ReleaseError('The working tree has changes. Commit or stash them first.')
+  run('git', ['fetch', '--quiet', 'origin', 'main', '--tags'])
+  if (run('git', ['rev-list', '--count', 'HEAD..origin/main']) !== '0')
+    throw new ReleaseError('main is behind origin/main. Pull first.')
+  if (succeeds('git', ['rev-parse', '--quiet', '--verify', `refs/tags/v${version}`]))
+    throw new ReleaseError(`The tag v${version} already exists.`)
+  if (!succeeds('gh', ['auth', 'status']))
+    throw new ReleaseError('The GitHub CLI is not signed in. Run gh auth login first.')
+
+  const packagePath = join(root, 'package.json')
+  const changelogPath = join(root, 'CHANGELOG.md')
+  const pkg = JSON.parse(readFileSync(packagePath, 'utf8')) as { version: string }
+  const date = new Date().toLocaleDateString('en-CA')
+  const cut = cutRelease(readFileSync(changelogPath, 'utf8'), pkg.version, version, date)
+
+  console.log(`Release ${version} (${date}), after ${pkg.version}. Its notes:\n\n${cut.notes}`)
+  if (dryRun) {
+    console.log('Dry run: nothing was changed.')
+    return
+  }
+
+  writeFileSync(changelogPath, cut.changelog)
+  writeFileSync(packagePath, `${JSON.stringify({ ...pkg, version }, null, 2)}\n`)
+  run('git', ['add', 'CHANGELOG.md', 'package.json'])
+  run('git', ['commit', '--quiet', '-m', `Release ${version}`])
+  run('git', ['tag', '-a', `v${version}`, '-m', `Release ${version}`])
+  run('git', ['push', '--quiet', '--atomic', 'origin', 'main', `v${version}`])
+  const notesPath = join(mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'scn-chat-release-')), 'notes.md')
+  writeFileSync(notesPath, cut.notes)
+  const url = run('gh', [
+    'release',
+    'create',
+    `v${version}`,
+    '--title',
+    `v${version}`,
+    '--notes-file',
+    notesPath,
+  ])
+  console.log(`Released ${version}: ${url}`)
+}
+
+try {
+  release(process.argv.slice(2))
+} catch (err) {
+  if (!(err instanceof ReleaseError)) throw err
+  console.error(err.message)
+  process.exitCode = 1
+}
diff --git a/packages/release/src/release.ts b/packages/release/src/release.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..864f383
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/release/src/release.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+/** Why a release can't be cut, worded for whoever ran it. */
+export class ReleaseError extends Error {}
+
+const parse = (version: string) => version.split('.').map(Number)
+
+/** Whether `next` comes after `current`, comparing major, then minor, then patch. */
+function isNewer(next: string, current: string) {
+  const [a, b] = [parse(next), parse(current)]
+  for (let i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
+    if ((a[i] ?? 0) !== (b[i] ?? 0)) return (a[i] ?? 0) > (b[i] ?? 0)
+  }
+  return false
+}
+
+const UNRELEASED = '## [Unreleased]\n'
+/** Where Unreleased ends: the next version's heading, or the links at the bottom. */
+const SECTION_END = /\n## \[|\n\[Unreleased\]: /
+const UNRELEASED_LINK = /^\[Unreleased\]: (\S+)\/compare\/(\S+)\.\.\.HEAD$/m
+
+/**
+ * The changelog with Unreleased dated as `version`, a new empty Unreleased above it, and the
+ * compare links at the bottom moved on, and that version's section as its release notes.
+ */
+export function cutRelease(changelog: string, current: string, version: string, date: string) {
+  if (!/^\d+\.\d+\.\d+$/.test(version))
+    throw new ReleaseError(`Give the version as major.minor.patch, like 0.2.0, not "${version}".`)
+  if (!isNewer(version, current))
+    throw new ReleaseError(`The version must be newer than ${current}, the current one.`)
+  const start = changelog.indexOf(UNRELEASED)
+  if (start === -1) throw new ReleaseError('CHANGELOG.md has no "## [Unreleased]" section.')
+  const bodyStart = start + UNRELEASED.length
+  const rest = changelog.slice(bodyStart)
+  const end = rest.search(SECTION_END)
+  const body = (end === -1 ? rest : rest.slice(0, end)).trim()
+  if (!body) throw new ReleaseError('Unreleased is empty, so there is nothing to release.')
+  const after = end === -1 ? '' : rest.slice(end + 1)
+  const link = UNRELEASED_LINK.exec(after)
+  if (!link) throw new ReleaseError('CHANGELOG.md has no "[Unreleased]: …/compare/…...HEAD" link.')
+  const [line, base, previous] = link
+  const links = `[Unreleased]: ${base}/compare/v${version}...HEAD\n[${version}]: ${base}/compare/${previous}...v${version}`
+  return {
+    changelog: `${changelog.slice(0, start)}${UNRELEASED}\n## [${version}] - ${date}\n\n${body}\n\n${after.replace(line, links)}`,
+    notes: `${body}\n`,
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/release/tests/release.test.ts b/packages/release/tests/release.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0c1465f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/release/tests/release.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { cutRelease, ReleaseError } from '../src/release.ts'
+
+const changelog = `# Changelog
+
+Intro.
+
+## [Unreleased]
+
+### Added
+
+- A new thing.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- A bug.
+
+## [0.1.1] - 2026-10-15
+
+### Fixed
+
+- An older bug.
+
+[Unreleased]: https://github.com/o/r/compare/v0.1.1...HEAD
+[0.1.1]: https://github.com/o/r/compare/v0.1.0...v0.1.1
+`
+
+describe('cutRelease', () => {
+  it('dates Unreleased as the version, opens a new Unreleased, and links both', () => {
+    const { changelog: next } = cutRelease(changelog, '0.1.1', '0.2.0', '2026-11-02')
+    expect(next).toBe(`# Changelog
+
+Intro.
+
+## [Unreleased]
+
+## [0.2.0] - 2026-11-02
+
+### Added
+
+- A new thing.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- A bug.
+
+## [0.1.1] - 2026-10-15
+
+### Fixed
+
+- An older bug.
+
+[Unreleased]: https://github.com/o/r/compare/v0.2.0...HEAD
+[0.2.0]: https://github.com/o/r/compare/v0.1.1...v0.2.0
+[0.1.1]: https://github.com/o/r/compare/v0.1.0...v0.1.1
+`)
+  })
+
+  it("gives the release's section as its notes", () => {
+    expect(cutRelease(changelog, '0.1.1', '0.2.0', '2026-11-02').notes).toBe(
+      '### Added\n\n- A new thing.\n\n### Fixed\n\n- A bug.\n',
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('refuses a version that is not newer than the current one', () => {
+    expect(() => cutRelease(changelog, '0.1.1', '0.1.1', '2026-11-02')).toThrow(ReleaseError)
+    expect(() => cutRelease(changelog, '0.1.1', '0.1.0', '2026-11-02')).toThrow(/newer than 0.1.1/)
+    expect(() => cutRelease(changelog, '0.9.0', '0.10.0', '2026-11-02')).not.toThrow()
+  })
+
+  it('refuses a version that is not plain major.minor.patch', () => {
+    expect(() => cutRelease(changelog, '0.1.1', 'v0.2.0', '2026-11-02')).toThrow(/like 0.2.0/)
+    expect(() => cutRelease(changelog, '0.1.1', '0.2', '2026-11-02')).toThrow(/like 0.2.0/)
+  })
+
+  it('refuses when Unreleased holds nothing to release', () => {
+    const empty = changelog.replace(/### Added[\s\S]*?(?=## \[0\.1\.1\])/, '')
+    expect(() => cutRelease(empty, '0.1.1', '0.2.0', '2026-11-02')).toThrow(/Unreleased is empty/)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/packages/release/tsconfig.json b/packages/release/tsconfig.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..71351fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/release/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+{
+  "extends": "../../tsconfig.base.json",
+  "include": ["src", "tests"]
+}
diff --git a/pnpm-lock.yaml b/pnpm-lock.yaml
index c99ca18..4c3c465 100644
--- a/pnpm-lock.yaml
+++ b/pnpm-lock.yaml
@@ -351,6 +351,8 @@ importers:
         specifier: 4.6.5
         version: 4.6.5
 
+  packages/release: {}
+
   plugins/anthropic:
     dependencies:
       '@ai-sdk/anthropic':